


Cooking by the Book

by LittleMissPixieStix



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Just Friends, almost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:21:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4093834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissPixieStix/pseuds/LittleMissPixieStix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Engineer and Scout fic that hints towards a growing father-son relationship between the two.<br/>And there's pie.<br/>Delicious pecan pie that comes with a side-serving of a small life lesson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You can find both the prompt that started this fic, which is this chapter, on my tumblr - http://littlemissfemscout.tumblr.com/post/120274247942/prompt-challenge-do-something-at-least-300-words  
> 

“Hey, Hardhat!  Ya’ all built up?” Scout called as he ran by the Texan, “Gotta keep those BLU’s back.”

“I’m almost set, son,” Engineer answered back, “Just need ta’ level up the teleporter-don’t pick up that metal!”

Scout’s head jerked around, and he skidded to a stop, standing on his tiptoes as he had halted just short of picking up the ammo.  He waved his arms, doing his best to not step on and pick it up before the Engineer could.

“Thank ya’, pard’ner’” Engineer said, moving swiftly to grab the metal before Scout’s balance failed him, “Go on now, get.”

With a grin, Scout started to head up to the front lines, leaving the Engineer to add the last finishing touches to his buildings before the fight began.  That wasn’t the last that the two team mates saw of each other though.  Since this was a payload battle, the team was doing their best to keep BLU pushed back, and had held them to only two checkpoints so far.  

For the REDs, this meant a lot of heading back to the dispenser to refill their ammo supplies, especially for one plucky Boston lad who went through bullets faster than he could talk.  Which meant a lot of visits to stock up again at the Engineer’s dispenser.

“How’s it going way back here?” Scout teased, crouching down to pull out some ammo from the dispenser slot, “Pretty quiet, eh?”

“Now you hush your mouth, boy,” Engineer replied, a good-natured tone woven into his chiding words, “Just because I’m not up at the very front, doesn’t meant that I’m slackin’ off.”

His sentry gun turned, and rockets blasted off the top of it, killing a BLU Demoman that had come around to try to destroy his nest.  The Engineer’s shotgun was in his hands, reloaded from having to chase a Spy off as well.

Not that he had anything to prove, the man was part of the strong backbone that let the offense do their part without having to worry about their guns running empty or their backs being open to attack.

There was the sound of a minigun whirling up near them, and they both turned to look.  A Heavy and Medic had managed to get nearby, and were coming over the hill to the right, aiming straight for the sentry gun.

Without a word, Scout took off, weaving between the streams of bullets, while Engineer moved to quickly repair his sentry.  When Scout got close, he was able to force the Medic away from his larger partner, leaving the Heavy open and without his healer as the larger man headed down the hill.  With no one to help keep him alive, it was a contest to see which man, or machine, would fall first. 

In the end, the Engineer managed to gun down the Heavy, and Scout came running back with more blood on his clothes, and a few syringes in his face.

“Ow, ow, ow,” He muttered, changing his tune as soon as he thought the Engineer could hear him, “I beat his ass, Engie.  I beat it good.”

The Bostonian moved to go lean on the dispenser, shifting his arm away from where the Engineer was repairing it.  The healing factor from the dispenser wasn’t as strong as the medi-gun, but it was just as welcome.

“See this?” Scout said, waving towards his face, “This don’t hurt at all.”

Engineer silently pulled one of the syringes off of him

“Hey- OW!”

“Sure they don’t,” Engineer said, giving the rest of his machines a once over, “You’re welcome to hang around the dispenser for a bit, until they  _really_ don’t hurt, Scout.  Just make yerself useful and keep an eye on for any BLUs.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.  Hey, Engie, how much longer we got?” Scout asked, reloading his gun once again.

“Ten more minutes, assuming we keep BLU offa’ the next checkpoint,” Engineer replied, “Why?  Somethin’ wrong, Scout?”

“Nah, just wonderin’,” Scout said, “What’cha making for dinner tonight?  Will you make some of your BBQ?  And creamed corn?”

“Don’t tell me you’re hungry already, Scout.  You had breakfast jus’ before the fight.”

“Nah, I’m good.  But that doesn’t mean that I can’t look  forward to one of your great dinners.”

‘An’ what makes you think that I’m makin’ those tonigh-”

An explosion rocked the area near them. Now that he was fully reloaded, once again, he was ready to back out into the fight.

“Tell ya’ what, son,” Engineer replied, moving quickly to repair his dispenser again as Scout moved away from it, “Keep those BLUS ta’ only two points, and I might even throw a pecan pie in.  Might.”

That was all the encouragement that Scout needed.  Pausing to shoot a Spy that was behind Engineer, and the Texan disposing of a Soldier behind Scout,  the younger mercenary moved to head back out into the field.

“Not only are we gonna hold those BLUS, but I’m gonna be in the top three, just you watch,” Scout said, receiving a friendly spank on the rear before her ran off.

“Watch yer’self, Scout,” The Texan reminded him, “Pride comes before the fall. “

“And Scout’s gonna come before anyone else on the board,” He replied, pointing to himself with a grin.

The Texan couldn’t help but shake his head as Scout left.  The kid had a good heart, good humor, good manners sometimes, but he could be so cocky.  That was going to get him hurt one day, and Engineer was going to do his best to help him grow beyond that.  

The two of them got along well enough.  Maybe he’d have a talk with Scout when he made the boy go shuck some corn with him.

Because, with less than five minutes left in the fight, creamed corn looked like part of what Engineer was going to be making for dinner.  That and barbecue.  And, as he repaired his teleporter and sentry, he wondered if the team had any pecans on the base, to make the pie that he had promised  

With a round like this, the team, and Scout, had earned it.


	2. Pretty Fly for a Pie Guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Engineer and Scout bonding time, yeah! I might add more to this fic if I come up with more, or if it's requested, but so far this stands at two chapters.
> 
> You can find this chapter on my tumblr - http://littlemissfemscout.tumblr.com/post/120885909002/pretty-fly-for-a-pie-guy

“So what’dja need, Hardhat?” Scout asked, leaning against a kitchen counter, “Why’dja call me in here?”

“Well, son, you said you wanted pecan pie this afternoon,” The Engineer replied, “And you’re gonna help me make it.”

Scout’s face blanked, as if he couldn’t believe what the Engineer was saying.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Scout said, raising up a hand, “You want  _me_  to help  _you_ make it?”

“I’m makin’ dinner for everyone, Scout, the dinner that you asked for,” The Engineer reminded him, “I think it’s only fair that you come help me out in the kitchen an’ make that pie you want.”

“But you make it so good, man,” Scout said, a small whine in his voice.

“Then shouldn’t ya’ learn while I’m here ta’ teach ya’?” Engineer said, sliding the recipe he had written down towards Scout, “That’d be one of the best ways, don’t ya’ think?”

Scout looked down at the recipe, and then up at the Texan’s face.

“Go on now,” Engineer insisted, sliding it closer, “As long as you’re cookin’ by tha’ book an’ tryin’ ta’ do this seriously, I’ll be here to help ya.  Oven’s already preheatin’, ingredients are out, all ya’ have ta’ do is make it, Scout”

Scout took the recipe and looked it over, reading the instructions that Engineer had written down for him.

“You know, I think that if I had come in first insteada’ you, you wouldn’t be asking me ta’ do this.”

“I think the sooner that ya’ start baking, the sooner you can start putting some pecan goodness in your piehole, Scout.”

Scout sighed, but knew the Texan was right.  If Scout wanted the pie, he was going to have to make it himself.

“Fine, fine, ya’ win, Hardhat,” Scout said, moving to look over the paper, “I’ll make the damn pie.” 

“Alright, good, let me just check this with ya’.  Do you know what this means, Scout?” Engineer asked, pointing to the “tbsp” he had written down.

“Yeah, sure,”Scout said, digging a tablespoon out of the drawer, “It means ‘totally bigger spoon.”

The Engineer glanced up from the recipe, and looked at the boy.

“Does it now, son?” The Texan said slowly, tapping the tsp on the paper, “What does this mean then?”

“Totally smaller ‘poon,” Scout replied, holding up a teaspoon, “Why you asking me all of this?  I thought that you were the pie expert?”

Engineer looked down at the utensils Scout had pulled out, and decided that Scout didn’t need any corrections right now.  He had managed to get it right.  Somehow, with that logic, he had managed to get it right, and that was all that mattered for the moment.

“I just wanted to make sure that you knew baking shorthand, Scout, and that you weren’t runnin’ around looking for a t-b-s-p.”

“Nah, just because I don’t cook much here doesn’t mean I’m completely dumb,” Scout said with a laugh, “I helped my mom out in the kitchen sometimes, when she had time ta’ bake.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.  She didn’t make pie a lot with me, but we made some good cake together,” Scout said as he looked through the ingredients that the Engineer had pulled out for him. 

“That sounds nice,” Engineer commented, fetching Scout a bowl.  It wasn’t often the Scout opened up like, and it was something that the Engineer wanted to encourage.

“It was.  It was, like, our time together,” Scout said as he grabbed a knife and started chopping up some pecans, “When ya’ have as many brothers as I do, it’s hard ta’ get some alone time with your ma’.”

“Baking was that alone time for ya’ then, huh?” Engineer prompted, checking the food that was on the stove.

“None of m’brothers wanted ta’ do it.  Thought it was too girly,” Scout said, “Their loss.  She let me lick the bowl clean when we were done.”

“Sounds to me like you were the smart one in the family,” Engineer said with a grin.

“Me?  Heh, uh, nah,” Scout replied as he checked the recipe and moved onto mixing some ingredients in the bowl, “Just knew how to be in tha’ right place at the right time.”

That’s a good skill ta’ have.  Maybe it’s why you’re such a good Scout,” Engineer replied, “Ya’ know how to be in the right place ta’ surprise those BLUs.”

Scout’s hands paused as he looked over at the Engineer.  He hadn’t heard any sarcasm in the man’s words, and he was checking to see if there was any sign of that in the Texan’s face.  Scout saw nothing but a sincere smile, and that was something that made him happy.  It wasn’t often that he got praised like this.

“Ya’ really think I’m a good Scout?” He asked a bit more eagerly than he would have liked, ”Really?”

“Scout, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

Scout said nothing in reply, but grinned to himself as he returned to mixing.   _He_ knew he was a good scout, but to hear someone else say it, someone that he looked up to as almost family, meant a lot to him.

The two of them worked on their respective tasks, only silence between them.  After a while, Scout realized something.

“Engie, I don’t got a bottom for the pie.”

“You mean the crust?”

“Yeah, that,” Scout answered, “I don’t got one.  What am I s’posed ta’ do now?”

“Check the fridge,” Engineer replied calmly, “I already made one and had it chilling for ya’.”

Scout, with a glance back over Engineer, opened up the refrigerator and found  the pie crust already sitting in a pie pan for him.  Grinning, Scout pulled it out and set it over on the counter where he was working.

“Okay, now what, Hardhat?”

“Pour the pecans in,” Engineer said, “You chopped them up, right?”

“Yeah, ‘course, that was my favorite part,” Scout said as he poured the nuts in, “I was like a freakin’ ninja.”

Engineer glanced over at Scout.

“You still have all of your fingers, Scout?”

“Yeah, sure, why wouldn’t-,” The confused look on Scout’s face gave way to annoyence, “Heeeeey, I can handle a knife, Engie.  Stop smilin’ like that.”

Engineer continued to grin, but looked down away from Scout as he did so, waiting for the question that he knew was coming next.

“Okay, now what do I do?”

There it was.

“Pour the what’s in the bowl on top of that.”

Scout started to lift up the bowl, but stopped mid-tipping.

“Now, wait, hold on, is that right?  Isn’t that just going, like, drown the pecans?  It’s not pecan-bottomed pie.”

”Just trust me and pour it, Scout.”

“This can’t be right, man,” Scout said, “I don’ wanna screw it up.”

Without saying another word, Engineer moved next to Scout, grabbed onto the bowl, and gently tipped it.  The sweet filling flowed into the pan, smothering the pecans at the bottom.  Before Scout could say anything about it, Engineer nodded towards the pan, redirecting Scout’s attention back to it.  The pecans, now thoroughly coated with the filling, floated to the top.

“Maybe you don’t always know best after all,” Engineer said, “Maybe it wouldn’t hurt you to learn to take orders from others sometimes.”

“Woulda’ figured that you were the type of guy who appreciated questions,” Scout said, his pride somewhat bruised.

“I am.  I don’ mind questions at all, encourage ‘em,” Engineer replied, “But you weren’t asking questions, Scout, you weren’t wonderin’ why you were supposed to pour it.  You disrespected my instructions which means ya’ disrespected me.”

“Ah, shoot, man, I didn’t mean ta’ do that.”

“You need ta’ watch out fer’ that then,” Engineer said, “Words are strong things, an’ you like ta’ fling them around every which way.  It’s easy to disrespect someone even if ya’ don’t mean ta’.”

“What d’ya mean?” Scout asked, “How?”

“How about what just happened?” Engineer asked as he pulled out some oven mitts, “You disrespected my words, my years of pie makin’, and said that they couldn’t be right.  What if you were rattlin’ off baseball facts, an’ everytime ya’ said one someone said you were wrong, even when ya’ knew you were right.  That’d be annoying, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

“Doubt can lead ta’ either questions or disrespect, and the sooner you learn the difference, the better you’ll do in life,” Engineer said as he placed the pie in the oven and closed the door, “Questions aren’t ever wrong, as long as you ask them right, you understand?”

Scout looked down at the floor, and then up at Engineer again.

“Yeah, Engie, I get it now, I think,” Scout said, sheepishly, “Sorry ‘bout not trustin’ ya’ about the pie and stuff.”

“Trust is somethin’ that ya’ need ta’ have, especially out here,” Engineer paused, pulling the over mitts off, “But that’ll be a lesson for another day, I suppose.  Just remember to trust your team mates, Scout, we’re all we’ve got-”

“Even Spy?”

Engineer raised an eyebrow at Scout.

“Yes, even the snake,” He said, “Now, as I was sayin’, we’re all we’ve got out here.  As long as you trust the team to have your back, you won’t have to be looking over your shoulder every minute to watch it yourself.”

“You do, don’t ya’?”

“I’m a Spy’s main target, and so is Doc, we’re the exceptions to that rule,” Engineer said, looking over at the boy, “Are you disrespectin’ my word again, Scout?”

“No, Engie, no,” Scout said quickly, worried that his pie-privileges were about to be withheld, “I was jus’ askin’ questions, man.”

Engineer grinned.

“Looks like you did figure it out after all, son.”

The Texan glanced over at where Scout had been working, a small mess remaining.

“Care to help me clean up, Scout?” 

“Yeah, sure, I guess,” Scout replied, “Whatd’ya need me ta’ do?”

“I’ll put the ingredients back,” The Texan replied, “You get ta’ lick the bowl; be sure ta’ wash it, and anything else ya’ used, once you’re done, ya’ hear?”

Scout got a huge smile on his face.

“Yeah, I hear ya’,” He said, happily setting to his task, “I got it.”

“Thank ya’, Scout,” Engineer replied, “I appreciate your help in here today.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad,” Scout said, grinning sheepishly when Engineer glanced over at him, “I…had fun, alright?  Wasn’t a bad way to spend an hour.  Might even do it again sometime.”

“Time flies, eh?  I’ll look forward to ya’ comin’ back,” Engineer said, “It’s not oft-”

“Same time tomorrow?”

Engineer looked over in surprise at the Scout, pausing on his walk over to the stove, and then grinned at him.

“Same time tomorrow, if ya’ want.” He replied, peeking in to check the pie, “If ya’ got some more time ta’ waste, I wouldn’t mind some more help ta’day…Someone might even get a taste of the pie if they stay long enough…”

Engineer didn’t need to say anymore.  That was enough to convince Scout to stay and help out in the kitchen.

The first taste of that delicious, sweet nutty pie would be worth it, and the conversation wasn’t bad.  It wasn’t bad at all.


End file.
